Green beanies off to Katie Gerczynski, a 2nd-grader from Glen Burnie, who was chosen by Crayola to be part of its “Green Team”.

Katie and 9 others were tapped from among all the kids who entered Crayola’s “How I Dream in Green” coloring contest last spring. Entrants were asked to draw their vision for making their homes, schools or communities greener. Her offering was called “How I Can Make the Earth Smile.”

The crayon maker honored Katie and the other kids this week by summoning them to its Easton, PA headquarters, where they were on hand for a dedication of the company’s new 15-acre solar array. Crayola says the 26,000 panels should provide enough power to make 1 billion of the 3 billion crayons it produces annually. What about when the sun’s not shining? Color me blue then.

It has a very vertical design with living and private zones situated on multiple separate floors. It’s a consequence of a steep hillside site where the house was built. It provides for numerous outdoor and covered terraces and balconies capitalize on stunning views of the bay and the San Francisco skyline beyond.

It was built by McDonald Construction & Development, the firm behind several other LEED Platinum projects. The rich and contemporary residence spans four levels on a hill and incorporates a number of green elements and ideas from various companies.

It uses passive solar and geothermal green sources in order to produce additional power as well as the solar thermal cells to heat the water. The heated water is also used to provide hydronic heating underneath the engineered Veneer hardwood flooring. In order to lessen the consumption of water, the house has low-flow toilets, faucets, and shower fixtures.

During the construction, majority of the materials were locally sourced and recycled content materials. They used high fly ash in all the concrete and they used reclaimed exposed timber framing. Recycled concrete counter tops, sinks, tubs and surfaces as well as recycled standing metal seam roofing were used.

The house is insulated with spray foam insulation made from beet resins and efficient aluminum-framed windows which are thermally broken, double paned and with low E. Efficient LED lighting as well as the whole house automation and lighting system are used in order to save the power. In order to keep the indoors healthy, they used zero VOC paints and finishes as well as an innovative air recirculation system.

source: http://www.robaid.com/tech/green-architecture-hillside-house-marin-county-california.htm

A trade show is coming to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center at Oaks April 16 to 18. It promises to have plenty of green ideas for home and business owners.

The aptly named “Go Green Expo”, one of the nation’s largest eco-friendly business and consumer lifestyle showcases, will be held Friday through Sunday at the large indoor expo facility located at 100 Station Ave., accessible via the Oaks exit off Route 422. The show stops in Montgomery County as part of a nationwide tour.

Touted as the area’s largest one-stop shop for all things green, from gadgets to home supplies to food, Go Green Expo will offer something for everyone, “no matter what your shade of green,” according to Bradford Rand, Go Green Expo founder and CEO.

Looking for a more energy-efficient home? You can take your chance on 9 Shutter Latch — along with possibly 17 million other people nationwide.

For the third year, HGTV has built a custom-designed, fully furnished ” green home ” to give away to one lucky winner, and this year’s model is in a ” cottage ” neighborhood in ” The Pinehills ” development in Plymouth. This is the cable channel’s first green home in the Northeast, and is part of a ” you don’t have to be extreme to be green ” prize package valued at almost $800,000.

Potential homeowners can enter from April 16 to June 4 to win the home, and can visit the home starting April 21. ( Thousands visited last year’s HGTV Green Home in Port St. Lucie, Fla., and nearly 17 million vied to win it. ) HGTV will air the ” HGTV Green Home 2010 ” special at 8 p.m. April 18, with repeats through the sweepstakes period. The winner will be ” ambushed ” on June 28.

What’s special about the house? The two-bedroom shingle-style cottage with about 2,100 square feet of living space — a design inspired by classic cottages on Cape Cod and the Islands — was built with green and sustainable materials and ideas throughout. Those include fieldstone from New England farmland; low-water landscaping; permeable pavers; low-flow shower heads and dual-flush toilets; rainwater collection; soy-based spray foam insulation; Energy Star roofing; solar panels; and new Smart Sun efficient windows.

The furnishings, too, are green, with fabrics and flooring from reusable materials, and a dining room table made from repurposed wood by West Barnstable Tables, one of many Cape-area companies involved. Yarosh Associates Architects of Mashpee and MacKenzie Brothers Builders from Marstons Mills have led the project.

The cottage style “was a plan that would show the idea that green could still have character,” says Tony Green, managing partner at Pinehills, who says he was “thrilled” that HGTV picked this development. “There’s all this great technological stuff to make the footprint lighter, but it still looks and feels like a traditional home.”

The award-winning Pinehills has been designed with the natural environment in mind, including preserving 70 percent of land as open space. It offers walking and nature trails among upscale amenities of a swimming pool, golf courses, shops and a fitness center.

Green Home construction photos are on HGTV.com/greenhome and hgtvpro.com, and a 90-second virtual tour debuted on the HGTV Web site this week. Look in next Sunday’s At Home section for more details on the HGTV Green Home, built six miles from Plymouth center.

Green living is the wave of the future and sales of natural flooring materials are booming. Bamboo flooring has become extremely popular. It has a similar look of a traditional wood floor but without it affecting the environment in a harmful way.

Natural bamboo is a member of the grass family which means it grows rapidly and the plant is not killed when cut. It continues to be harvested over and over again, taking only about four years to reach 20 yards or more.

There is nothing to give up with using bamboo versus wood – in fact, there is much to be gained. Not only is it environmentally friendly being a green product, it is also tough and durable. It is 27 % harder than oak and 13 % harder than maple. It is also known to be a healthy alternative because there is not the presence of PVC’s like in wood. With the concerns over allergens and air quality, bamboo is a better choice.

Installation is completed in the same way as other wood flooring. The manufacturing process makes the flooring just as smooth as any other hardwood or laminate. And, because the bamboo is composed of complex fibers, it doesn’t absorb moisture as easily as wood. This makes it a great green product to use in the kitchen where spills often occur.

Retailers offer a wide range of available styles and colors. Some large suppliers offer online ordering. This way you can order samples from them and after matching them up with your decor you simply order right from home.

Some of the large suppliers are: Bamboo Garden, Envirochoice, Far East, Ming Dynasty, Panda Lumber, Premium Green, Preswick, Springwood, Westhollow and Woodstock.

It’s not quite a Michelin Star, but it could be soon. The newly formed “Sustainable Restaurant Association” will rate restaurants according to how green and sustainable they are. Launched with the backing of leading restaurants and seriously important English chefs, participating restaurants will be visited by a green inspector. They had better watch out…

The awards are a bronze, silver or gold status and will be listed in restaurant guides. And they will be judged on very rigorous standards.

Started by the founder of Leon, along with top Michelin chefs Tom Aikens, and Raymond Blanc, the Sustainable Restaurant Association is being launched with the pledge that restaurateurs and customers will have a sustainable and healthy eating experience.

MORE >>>> http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/03/new-group-rates-restaurants.php?campaign=th_rss&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+treehuggersite+(Treehugger)

Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.

Earth Day is April 22nd every year.

To learn more and join in activities you can go to http://www.earthday.net and http://www.earthday.org/

Many countries in Europe use BMW sedans as patrol and pursuit cars. Now, BMW says it will sell more than 240,000 engines to U.S. police-car startup Carbon Motors for that company’s cruiser.
The big shock? They’re diesel engines. Specifically, BMW’s 3.0-liter twin-turbo straight-six clean diesel, as used in the 2010 BMW 335d and 2010 BMW X5 xDrive35d sold in the U.S. since late 2008.

Also, it’s not every day you see a BMW press release boasting about its cooperation with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Unless Carbon plans to sell exclusively to Federal agencies, BMW’s claim of a “substantial reduction in US government fleet’s CO2 emissions” should probably be rewritten to reflect that fact that most police vehicles in the U.S. are purchased by state and local forces, not Federal ones.

source: http://www.greencarreports.com/blog/1043667_carbon-cop-cars-to-go-green-with-bmw-clean-diesel-engines

Today’s opening of the 88th New York Public Library branch in Battery City Park is the first of its kind in Manhattan to go green.
What makes the two-story building so environmentally friendly is the installation of low-energy heating and cooling system, low-energy lighting, and low-flow sinks and toilets.

“ The striking new environmentally friendly library in Battery Park City is sure to quickly become a beacon for the community, ” said Paul LeClerc, President of the New York Public Library. “ At a time when people are depending on libraries more then ever for free resources and job assistance the library is a crucial resource for the neighborhood.”

The 10,000 square-foot green buildingwas designed by the firm 1100 Architects and is located at 175 North End Avenue, where visitors can see views of the Hudson River.

Tables, chairs, carpeting, and flooring were constructed with recyclable material such as off-cuts from window frames, old truck tires, belt buckles, parachute straps, and other previously used items.
Investment banking group Goldman Sachs gave a private donation of $3.5 million, while state and city funding covered the rest of the $6.7 million project.

Other features of the library include: 36 public-access computers, separate reading areas for kids, young adults, and adults, and a multi-use programming center on the second floor with two self-check out machines.

source: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local-beat/First-Green-NYC-Public-Library-Opens-88450062.html

Palm oil output that does not cut down forests and harm wildlife may double to 3 million tonnes by the end of this year as benchmark Malaysian prices steadily rise, an industry official said on Monday.

The bulk of it will come from Malaysia as big planters come closer to ensuring their estates, mills and processors comply with commitments set by the industry-driven Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

The grouping’s secretary general Vengeta Rao said planters like Sime Darby ( SIME.KL ), IOI Corp ( IOIB.KL ) and Kuala Lumpur Kepong ( KLKK.KL ) will have a comprehensive supply chain for green palm oil within two years and higher prices encourage this.

” I would estimate that to-date production of 1.5 million tonnes of certified green palm oil will double at the end of this year, ” Rao said at the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit.

” Higher palm oil prices will encourage companies to be more sustainable and as more supply comes in, the green palm oil’s premium goes down, encouraging more consumers to go green. ”

source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE62E1SE20100315